A natural comedienne, she combines a vivacious stage presence with graceful, finished phrasing and an apparently effortless coloratura technique . . . [she is] triumphantly celebrating her erotic power in the Act 2 "Rondò e finale" from "Matilde di Shabran" . . . Without ever over-egging the pudding, Kurzak acts vividly for a "blind" audience, alive to verbal nuance and using coloratura not merely as a vote-catching circus trick, but to enhance character. Lustily abetted by the Sinfonia Varsovia, she is especially good at generating a crescendo of delirious, dizzying glee that is such a hallmark of Rossini's comic art. But this is not all about frolicsome virtuosity and bright-pinging top Ds and Es. Kurzak can find warmer, deeper . . . colourings within her silvery soprano . . . [a] tenderly sculpted performance of Amenaide's prayer in "Tancredi" . . . she rails with passionate ferocity as the banished wife in the rarely aired "Sigismondo" and catches the mingled dreaminess and excited anticipation of Semiramide's "Bel raggio lusinghier" . . . elegance of style and expressive delicacy (she always cares for the text) . . . Kurzak brilliantly caps her recital with Fiorilla's Act 2 scena from "Il turco in Italia", beginning in intense pathos and ending in coruscating bravura . . . This regularly brought the house down at Covent Garden, and on this evidence it's easy to hear why.

Record Review /
Richard Wigmore,
Gramophone (London) / 01. June 2013

. . . she tosses off Rossini's elaborate writing with the greatest of ease. This is an impressive Rossini recital . . .

Record Review /
R.E.B.,
Classicalcdreview.com / 01. July 2013

. . . dazzling . . . Kurzak combines a warm and richly colored low register with tireless, technically precise fireworks . . . the theatrical fearlessness of her delivery and the fluidity of her phrasing throughout make this an enjoyable and deeply impressive offering.

She sparkles in the duet with Figaro from the Barber, "Dunque io son", and Fiorilla's big scena from "Turco" . . . Pier Giorgio Morandi brings idiomatic style to the music.

Record Review /
Hugh Canning,
The Times (London) / 11. August 2013

. . . [Kurzak's vocalism is] light and bright-toned, with the top register and decorations flaunted . . . [her performances are accomplished] on their own terms, each of them exemplifying a strong and characterful vocal presence. She moves easily and purposefully around the notes of her title track, her words clear, her top notes (up to E in this instance) spicy in quality . . . in the more romantic atmosphere of "Selva opaca" (from "Guglielmo Tell") her tone becomes fleshier, her approach more dramatic, and she shapes the line with real sensitivity. As the heroine of "Matilde di Shabran" . . . her mocking manner suits the aria's ironies perfectly . . . she can provide real heroics, suitably scaled, for Pamire's magnificent prayer . . .